Ambassador Gonsalves Condemns Honduran Coup d'état

Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines addressing the UN General Assembly on the Honduran coup d'état

NEW YORK, NY, June 29, 2009: - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines "categorically condemned" the recent coup d'état in Honduras, calling it "illegal and wholly unwarranted, and represents a gross violation of the rule of law and the norms of civilized nations."

Speaking at a special emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, Vincentian Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves called for the immediate reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Ambassador Gonsalves stated that his country would not recognise any interim government as legitimate.

"In our hemisphere, we have firmly turned the page on an ignominious chapter of antidemocratic military power grabs, unsupported by the vast majority of the people, and encouraged solely by a selfish and short-sighted elite," said Ambassador Gonsalves. "We urge international solidarity in condemning this cowardly and antidemocratic action, and in demanding the prompt return to office of President Zelaya and his government. We all have an obligation to ensure that the popular will is respected through prompt restoration of the democratic order," he said.

Ambassador Gonsalves called for "this despicable aberration [to] be beaten back into the dustbin of obsolete and discredited extrajudicial tactics."

Quoting Cuban poet and philosopher José Martí, Ambassador Gonsalves stated "one just principle from the depths of a cave is more powerful than an army."

"Today, we must reaffirm the just principles of human rights, democracy, non-violence and respect for the rule of law," said the Vincentian envoy. "With firm adherence to these just principles, and with the unstinting support of the international community, the people of Honduras shall soon prove to be more powerful than the military dictators," he said.

[Click HERE to view a copy of Ambassador Gonsalves' Statement in .pdf format]